Template - Date: BETWAY World Cup of Darts

ENGLAND’S Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis won their fourth Betway World Cup of Darts title with a dramatic 3-2 win over the Netherlands’ Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld in Sunday night’s final in Frankfurt.

Taylor and Lewis took victory in the £250,000, 32-nation tournament for a fourth time in five years with a resilient performance in the final as they came from 2-1 down to claim victory in the last two Singles ties for glory. England’s hardest test in their run to the decider had seen them pushed all the way by Spain in the first round, but after cruising past China, Austria and Northern Ireland they took on the Netherlands in a repeat of the 2014 decider.

Taylor took the final’s opening Singles tie with a 103 average and a 149 checkout in a 4-3 win over van Gerwen, only for van Barneveld to seal a 4-3 win over Lewis in their Singles contest with a marvellous 11-darter. Taylor’s 103 finish put England ahead in the Doubles tie, but van Barneveld finished 104 as the Dutch took a 4-2 win to move ahead 2-1 and put themselves on course to repeat their 2014 triumph.

England, though, found a final surge as Taylor overcame van Barneveld 4-1 before Lewis defeated van Gerwen by the same scoreline in a tense decider to carry his nation to another triumph. Taylor had watched Lewis’ final Singles win over van Gerwen from the VIP seating area inside the Eissporthalle, and he admitted: “I was excited towards the end, it was great and I wanted to see the last match from the crowd.

“I wanted to beat Barney to give Adrian that chance to win it for us, and he did. It was a great final to watch, it was exciting and there was good scoring. “They were fantastic, even getting to the final was fantastic because I thought it would be tough for them against Belgium in the semis but they breezed it, and they did brilliantly all weekend.

“They both put their heart on their sleeve and gave everything they’ve got. We were representing England and it means a huge amount to us both too – it’s a team event and Adrian pulled me through. “The Spain game gave us the kick that we needed. They put us under pressure and we came through, and after that we kicked on. Over the years we’ve carried each other when the other hasn’t played as well, and we pull each other through.”

The win secured a place in November’s SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts for the pair, and Taylor added: “I’ve loved every minute of this event. It’s massive for me to be honest – because I don’t win that many things very often now!” Lewis said: “We’ve got great chemistry and we’re trying our best for each other and for our country and you don’t want to let anyone down.

“I didn’t play very well in the Doubles and I’d lost to Raymond in the Singles, and I think the two best players on the night were Phil and Raymond. I believe in Phil and I thought that he could beat Raymond and put me in to win it, and that’s how it worked out.” The Dutch pair saw off Russia, the Philippines, Australia and Belgium as they raced into the final, but the two-time champions were defeated in the decider for the first time as the number one seeds edged to victory.

Northern Ireland had overcome Japan, the Republic of Ireland and Canada to reach the semi-finals, but lost for a second time in three years at that stage as England proved too strong in both Singles games. Belgium’s bid to reach a second World Cup final had seen them defeat Poland, Hungary and number two seeds Scotland, but their tactic to switch the order of play in the semi-finals backfired as van Gerwen defeated Ronny Huybrechts 4-1 and van Barneveld saw off younger brother Kim 4-2.

Singles One:

(102.94)Phil Taylor 4-3 Michael van Gerwen (90.97) 1-0 – Taylor lands a 180 before finishing 85 for a 12-darter to open the game. 1-1 – van Gerwen scores 140, 140 and 180 before landing double eight for a 12-darter to level. 2-1 – Taylor finishes a 149 checkout to move back in front. 2-2 – van Gerwen lands a 180 and tops to square the tie. 3-2 – Taylor fires in a 180 and finishes 85 on double 16 to move a leg away from the win. 3-3 – van Gerwen lands a 180, with Taylor missing two match darts at tops to allow the Dutchman back in on double 16 to force a decider. 4-3 – Taylor is first to a finish and takes out 68 on double 16 to secure the opening tie for England.

Singles Two:

(87.62) Adrian Lewis 3-4 Raymond van Barneveld (97.83) 0-1 – van Barneveld lands a 180 and double 16 for a 13-darter. 0-2 – Double ten sees the Dutchman break throw. 1-2 – Lewis lands a 180 before punishing two misses from his rival by returning on double five. 2-2 – van Barneveld hits his second maximum, but Lewis finishes 56 on tops to level. 2-3 – Lewis misses tops to move ahead, and van Barneveld finishes 56 on double 18 to edge back into the lead. 3-3 – Double ten sees Lewis take the tie into a deciding leg. 3-4 – van Barneveld levels the final in style with a superb 11-darter as a 180 sets up a 41 finish.

Doubles:

(90.62) Taylor/Lewis 2-4 van Gerwen/van Barneveld (95.08) 1-0 – Taylor finishes 103 to take the opening Doubles leg for England. 1-1 – van Gerwen lands double 16 to level. 1-2 – Taylor fires in a 174 score, but Lewis misses tops to take out 76 and van Barneveld powers home a 104 checkout to break throw for the Netherlands. 1-3 – van Gerwen hits a 180, Taylor produces another 174 to leave 32 only for van Barneveld to finish double 16. 2-3 – Lewis keeps the tie alive with a 98 finish on double 12. 2-4 – van Barneveld lands a 180 and double 16 as he seals the tie for the Netherlands, moving them 2-1 up. The Dutch would win the title if van Barneveld defeats Taylor in the third Singles tie.

Singles Three:

(92.12) Phil Taylor 4-1 Raymond van Barneveld (89.45) 1-0 – Four misses from van Barneveld allows Taylor in on double three to win the opening leg. 1-1 – van Barneveld lands a 180 and finishes 62 to level. 2-1 – van Barneveld posts a second maximum, but fails to give himself a dart at a double as Taylor steps in to finish 66 on double 16. 3-1 – Taylor hits a 180 and then finishes 83 on double eight to move two legs clear. 4-1 – Taylor seals the win with double 16 for a 13-darter to level the final – meaning that Adrian Lewis’ clash with Michael van Gerwen will be the decider.

Singles Four:

(86.10) Adrian Lewis 4-1 Michael van Gerwen (85.25) 1-0 – Both players open the deciding game with 180s before Lewis lands two 140s and then takes the leg on double three. 2-0 – van Gerwen misses four doubles to level, allowing Lewis back in to hit tops to move two legs up. 2-1 – van Gerwen opens with 140 and 180 to give himself breathing space for missed doubles across three visits before he finally lands double one to reply. 3-1 – Lewis takes out 76 on double four to move England a leg away from a fourth World Cup title. 4-1 – Lewis scores 180, 96 and 180 before recovering from five missed match darts by punishing van Gerwen’s miss at double 18 for a 110 checkout by hitting double eight for the title, retaining the trophy for England and winning a fourth World Cup.